2012 and 2013 were both great years for cinema, but 2014, at least for me, had a lack of great cinema. Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of films I loved (and I haven’t even seen such acclaimed pictures like A Most Violent Year or Nightcrawler), yet there weren’t too many movies this year that genuinely moved me.

Though I feel I’m selling 2014 short; it was overall a stellar year for cinema and all ten movies I name below are highly recommended. Honorable mentions go to the Lamb of God documentary As The Palaces Burn, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and The Zero Theorem

10. A Most Wanted Man (Anton Corbijn)

In his final leading role, Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a German espionage agent searching for the son of an Al-Qaeda operative. A Most Wanted Man‘s Hamburg setting reflects the iciness of the Cold War as well as the paranoia in a post 9/11 setting, and Corbijn’s direction creates one of the year’s most entertaining and clever pictures.

9. Life Itself (Steve James)

A celebration of famed film critic Roger Ebert, Life Itself is a fantastic tribute to one of the medium’s best writers. Featuring a selection of Roger’s friends and colleagues, including Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Werner Herzog, and A. O. Scott, Life Itself delves into Roger’s life, providing a nostalgic and sentimental take on the critic that will certainly please his devoted readers such as myself.

8. Interstellar (Christopher Nolan)

Though many joked about the logistics of the film’s complex ending, Interstellar was one of 2014’s most provocative and intelligent movies. Continuing both Nolan’s and Mathew McConaughey’s winning streaks, Interstellar mixes Spielbergian wonder with Kubrickian dread, and is thoroughly magnificent.

7. Ida (Pawel Pawlikowski)

After Anna, an up and coming nun in the convent, discovers her parents were Jewish, she embarks on a road trip with her aunt Wanda, leading to an identity crisis for both women. Ida has the feel of an Ingmar Bergman picture and its storyline certainly merits comparison to Wild Strawberries. The performances by the two leads are amazing, and with its stark black and white cinematography, Ida provides a poignant look on the crossroads of morality.

6. Gone Girl (David Fincher)

By now, you’ve likely heard of Gone Girl‘s big twist. Fortunately, I walked into the movie without any knowledge of it, and Gillian Flynn’s screenplay caught me completely by surprise. Yet Gone Girl doesn’t simply rely on shock value and it is the year’s most solidly entertaining movie. David Fincher once again proves he is a master of the thriller genre, providing a chilling and brutally realistic scenario that will surely connect to anyone who has followed the trials of O. J. Simpson or Casey Anthony.

5. Force Majeure (Ruben Östlund)

A tale that mixes morbidity with dark humor, Force Majeure is like if Michael Haneke directed a movie with a Larry David script. After a husband abandons his wife and children during a staged avalanche, the spouses question their solidarity of their marriage as well as the future of their family. Östlund leads viewers to analyze the characters’ intent, leading to a fascinating case about the ethical guidance of manhood.

4. Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson)

In the screening I attended to see Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, about five or six people left their seats halfway through the picture. Three-fourths into the movie and several others walked out (and I was at a manatee showing). Inherent Vice may be the most decisive picture of 2014, but its a solid comedy that part Master part Boogie Nights. Anderson’s bleak and often absurd humorous take on Raymond Chandler-esque mysteries certainly evokes the Coen brothers’ The Big Lebowski (and not just because both movies’ protagonists are pot-smoking hippies) and through his surreal lens, Paul Thomas Anderson examines the cultural anxiety of an early 70s Los Angeles. While Inherent Vice won’t win him any new fans, it further demonstrates why PTA is the best director working today.

3. Foxcatcher (Bennett Miller)

Miller’s previous movies Capote and Moneyball were great pictures but with Foxcatcher the director moves to a whole new level of filmmaking. A chilling tale between a troubled millionaire and his wrestling prodigy, Foxcatcher is gripping throughout its two hour running time, not to mention that Steve Carrell’s dramatic turn as John duPont was one of the most enthralling performances of the year.

2. Boyhood (Richard Linklater)

No film in the past twelve months, or perhaps even this decade, has drawn as much critical praise as Boyhood. The result of twelve years of filming, Richard Linklater’s latest picture about the transition of growing up hit home for me, though I fortunately didn’t have divorced parents or financial troubles in my childhood. Echoing real-life experiences from switching schools to falling in and out of love, Boyhood is a thoroughly realistic and emotional piece of cinema that fulfills film’s ultimate purpose to duplicate life on screen.

1. Whiplash (Damien Chazelle)

While Boyhood may be the most expansive film about adolescence, Whiplash is the best. The story between an aspiring jazz drummer and his abusive mentor, Whiplash is often funny and terrifyingly real, forcing viewers to question the lines of devotion. The highlight of the picture, of course, is J. K. Simmons’ performance, the strongest in the actor’s career, though Miles Teller’s role is equally as good as the dreamer student. It’s incredible that this is Damien Chazelle’s directorial debut, which had the sharpness of a veteran filmmaker. Whiplash may be made for jazz fans, but all moviegoers should see this.

Yes, I’m aware this post is coming out a few months late, but I never really got the chance to write up about my 10 favorite TV shows of last year. In a post-Breaking Bad landscape, 2014 was a solid year for television, with plenty of great new series as well as veterans showing their strength. Stay tuned for a post about 2014’s best movies as well as a write-up of the return of The X-Files.

Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu must think he’s the Howard Beale of cinema, shouting out the fallacy of Hollywood today. His previous films like Babel and 21 Grams were loudmouthed and shallow pictures over-swept with critical praise about how modern they were, addressing issues of the contemporary world. But much like Paul Haggis, Iñárritu possesses little understanding of reality outside his constraints and can’t help but shout out messages to his audience at the top of his lungs.

While noticeably more humorous than Iñárritu’s other films, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) is no different than Babel; even the title reeks of overt self-importance. Throughout the picture, Iñárritu makes a series of showy claims, accusing superhero movies of being pretentious, its stars who believe themselves as larger than life of being pretentious, celebrities who seek fame on Broadway as being pretentious, and critics who ignore the artistic merit of the work they criticize as being pretentious. In reality, Iñárritu seems to have little understanding about applying himself to his own standards, not realizing how pretentious his film is with its arrogant assertions. A director like Robert Altman or Jean-Luc Godard could have made Birdman into an effective, sharp satire, but Iñárritu doesn’t have the subtlety or nuance of those two filmmakers. Instead he throws his morals and messages directly at his audiences’ faces, not too differently from the superhero movies he’s criticizing.

Birdman stars Michael Keaton as Riggan Thomson, a washed-up actor who two decades earlier played the superhero Birdman on the silver screen. Desiring a much-needed comeback, Thomson stages a theater adaptation of Raymond Carver’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” but struggles with his pompous egomaniac co-star (Edward Norton), a jittery first-time actress (Naomi Watts), his moody girlfriend (Andrea Riseborough), and his pot-smoking daughter Sam (Emma Stone).

Iñárritu’s casting is certainly integral to his intentions. Keaton’s most iconic role was Batman in the two pictures Tim Burton directed, playing up on that persona, so his character isn’t too far off from himself. While Keaton and his fellow cast members place much effort into Birdman, they can’t fend off a poor, clunky script that requires them to bombastically declare their emotions. The best performance of the film comes from Watts but her character is largely lost in the sea that surrounds Riggan. Keaton does his best as the film’s protagonist but is bogged down by Iñárritu’s forceful direction, preventing the actor from fully portraying Riggan’s big personality.

The most notable aspect about Birdman though is its structure. Utilizing digital editing and filming, Birdman runs as if it is one continuous shot, an effect similarly achieved in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope. While I’ve stated my love for tracking shots before, they’re limited to a short time for a reason. Cutting is necessary to add breaks and pauses within a movie to allow the audience to breathe. Birdman’s one comprises unrelenting action that never stops pounding away at the audience. Rope adverted this effect by easing the pace but Iñárritu only quickens up his film overtime, preventing any chance for smooth transitioning between scenes. Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography at times is as magnificent as his work in The Tree of Life but through the picture’s constant motion we’re not left with any time to appreciate his photography.

While it pries itself to be the Sunset Boulevard for a new generation, Birdman has about the depth of a Family Guy episode. Mean-spirited, nasty, and shallow, Birdman is easily the worst Oscar winner to receive Best Picture since Crash.

Tragic news: documentary filmmaker Bruce Sinofsky has passed away at the age of 58 after a fight with diabetes. Sinofsky was one of the finest documentarians working today. Alongside fellow director and partner Joe Berlinger, Sinofsky made Paradise Lost, a documentary about the infamous West Memphis Three trial in Arkansas. Paradise Lost produced two sequels, but it’s also noted for being the first time Metallica allowed their music to be in a movie. That relationship between the documentarians and the band continued in Some Kind of Monster, dealing with the making of St. Anger as well as the therapy sessions conducted by Phil Towle with James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and Kirk Hammett. Other than providing an honest portrayal of its subject matter by examining Jason Newsted’s departure, Napster, and Hetfield’s exit to rehab, Metallica attributed Some Kind of Monster for keeping the bandmates sincere during the time as well as saving the band from splitting up.

By pressing his subjects to be truthful, Sinofsky created some of the most compelling documentaries of the past two decades. He will be missed.

For sixteen years, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart has dominated the late-night landscape, bringing a new standard to satirical news. Stewart’s cutting edge provided dynamite comedy as he viciously attacked cable news outlets like Fox News and CNN as well as political insight during the Bush and Obama presidencies. Not to mention without The Daily Show, we would have never seen talents such as Stephen Colbert, Steve Carrell, and John Oliver take air.

During yesterday’s taping, Stewart announced that he will be departing The Daily Show and Comedy Central stated that Stewart will leave at the end of the year. The news is a huge blow to the channel and comedy fans alike, as it’s almost been two months since The Colbert Report concluded. While Last Week Tonight is certainly as sharp as The Daily Show and The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore has been going at it strong for the past month, Stewart’s exit will leave a huge void in the satirical news genre. Hopefully Stewart will continue to commentate on politics if he plans to direct another film after 2014’s strong Rosewater. Whatever the case, I wish Stewart and everyone on the staff of The Daily Show the best of luck.

As you have most likely noticed, over the past couple of months posting has become more and more irregular. The reason isn’t just my same old excuse that I’m finding less and less time to blog (though that is partially true), but I’ve also been having a bit of a writer’s block (I have unfinished drafts of Inherent Vice and my ten favorite TV series of 2014 sitting on my desktop), plus I’ve been spending more and more of my free-time watching classic X-Files and Simpsons episodes. Now I hope know you are all disappointed, but I promise to keep blogging if at a slower pace, so this is not the end of Cinematic.

But hey, I’ve also got some good news to tell. It’s just been announced that Kyle MacLachlan will return for Twin Peaks‘ newest season. It’s been about twenty-three years since David Lynch’s and MacLachlan’s last collaboration (Fire Walk With Me), so it’s great to see the two work again, plus Twin Peaks wouldn’t be the same without Dale Cooper. Get ready for some damn good coffee in 2016.

]]>http://cinematicfilmblog.com/2015/01/13/editors-note-hiatus-and-obligatory-twin-peaks-new/feed/11ckckredWhat Was Your Favorite Non-2014 Movie You’ve Seen This Year?http://cinematicfilmblog.com/2014/12/28/what-was-your-favorite-non-2014-movie-youve-seen-this-year/
http://cinematicfilmblog.com/2014/12/28/what-was-your-favorite-non-2014-movie-youve-seen-this-year/#commentsSun, 28 Dec 2014 11:00:06 +0000http://cinematicfilmblog.com/?p=3622]]>The end of 2014 is approaching and rather than inquiring on what was your favorite movie of the year, I want to ask what was the best film you saw over the past twelve months that didn’t come from 2014?

The best new-to-me movie that I saw was Ingmar Bergman’s Persona, though I also loved Orson Welles’ The Trial as well. But what about yourself?

the quality of seeming or being felt to be true, even if not necessarily true

Back on October 17th in 2005, Stephen Colbert first anointed the word “truthiness” on the first episode of The Colbert Report to satirize the irony of Bush politics. By 2006, both Merriam-Webster and the American Dialect Society recognized truthiness as the word of the year and now just about everyone from newscasters to social media bloggers use truthiness in their day-to-day lives. On Thursday night on the final episode of The Colbert Report, Stephen recalled the impact that truthiness had on the world and by an extent the show’s. Stephen has had a NASA treadmill, a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavor, and a hockey team named after him, he had filmed the show in Iraq back in 2009, he began a presidential campaign sponsored by Doritos, he helped support the U. S. Olympic speed skating team in 2010, he skewered George W. Bush at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, he created his own Super PAC, and led the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear with Jon Stewart. More importantly, Colbert managed to complete all of these accomplishments and the show in his character, a right-wing Bill O’Reilly/Sean Hannity-like commentator, and always kept a straight face. Even during interviews, Stephen maintained his faux blowhard and egomaniacal persona, an almost impossible task.

Colbert rarely broke character on air and that he managed to keep his material fresh and relevant for over nine years made him a pop-culture icon. Stephen demonstrated much adversity back when he was a correspondent on The Daily Show but on The Colbert Report, he expanded his personality. The Colbert Report did not only provide biting commentary on politics or cable news, but satirical insight on sports, culture, and the social media. Stephen’s enthusiasm and energy made The Colbert Report so special and unique.

So after almost ten years of glory, Stephen Colbert has decided to move over to CBS to take over the reigns of The Late Show. While Stephen’s the perfect candidate to replace David Letterman, I’ll miss the character Colbert gave life to that brought me entertainment and insight over the past decade. It’s impossible to sum up the majesty and brilliance of The Colbert Report in a short piece, but Stephen did an amazing job as he capped of the series on Thursday, a nostalgic and sentimental farewell that was an almost pitch-perfect note of conclusion for the character.

The episode started as many Colbert Report episodes do, featuring an opening monologue and an installment of “The Word.” But the segment “Cheating Death” took a surprising turn as Stephen killed Grimmy, the night’s billed guest who has appeared on The Report over the past few months. Now having conquered death, Stephen reminisced about The Colbert Report before joining an all-star celebrity cast that ranged from George Lucas and Vince Gilligan (the latter still chained in Colbert’s basement) to Henry Kissinger and Charlie Rose for a sing-along of “We’ll Meet Again.” That moment alone parodies the conventions of series’ finales while embracing them in a balance that works perfectly. Not only is funny (filled to the brim with references that die-hard Colbert fans such as myself would recognize) but nostalgic, representing all of what Colbert has accomplished on Comedy Central.

In the final minutes of The Colbert Report after joining a sled that included Santa Clause, a unicorn Abraham Lincoln, and Alex Trebek, Stephen broke out of character to thank everyone who has worked with him before turning back to Jon Stewart in an interlude often featured when Colbert worked on The Daily Show, suggesting that The Colbert Report had just been a segment for Stewart. It reminded me how far Colbert has climbed up since then and how his dedication has brought him so far. The Colbert Report has arguably exceeded even The Daily Show in mining the paradoxes that inhabit our day-to-day lives and I’ll miss the series dearly. But I know Colbert will do well on CBS and I’m certain he will shine again.

Remember a few weeks ago when I criticized trailers for giving away too much and spoiling the film’s essence? Well, forget I said all of that for a second because Terrence Malick’s Knight of Cups now has its own teaser.

In recent years, Malick has grown more prolific in filmmaking, but Knight of Cups has been circling around for a while, searching for a distributor. The movie will debut in February at the Berlin International Film Festival, so I think we can expect a summer release for the picture.

If the trailer is any indication, Knight of Cups is more dialogue oriented than To The Wonder or The Tree of Life (though it certainly appears very dreamy and surreal, two staples of Malick’s filmography, as well as having an all-star cast that features Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, and Natalie Portman). I got a very Lynchian vibe from the teaser, and it reminded me much of INLAND EMPIRE.

Anyway, alongside Michael Haneke’s Flashmob, Knight of Cups is my most anticipated film of next year. Expect some beautiful cinematography of natural landscapes and somber narrations in 2015.

The last few months have not been a kind time for Bill Cosby. The legendary comedian has faced serious charges of rape (some dating back over 20 years ago) that have created an enormous publicity disaster. During this backlash, Hollywood has devoted itself to pulling Cosby out of the mainstream. Several of his comedy specials and appearances have been cancelled and TV Land has pulled The Cosby Show.

This scenario has happened many times before. Celebrities who have faced serious criticism for rape (Roman Polanski), incest (Woody Allen), or anti-Semitism (Mel Gibson) have had their past work removed or discredited. It’s a perfectly natural response to have and one not completely unjustifiable, but is it fair to splatter some films because of the actions or stance a director or actor committed?

I talked about Polanski about a month ago where I stated despite my continuous admiration towards the director, I think he has unfairly escaped proper conviction. I feel the same way about Allen or Cosby. Even if the allegations placed upon them aren’t true (which are very unlikely), it’s difficult to look at the two the same way again, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to have to protest Manhattan and Annie Hall or ban The Cosby Show. While I believe the two should face the justice coming upon them, it’s completely fine to still treasure their past achievements.

Mel Gibson is a different case; as someone who hated Braveheart and The Patriot for their historical inaccuracies, and found The Passion of the Christ to be one of the most deplorable movies of the 21st century, Gibson, in my opinion, has been unfairly treated by almost everyone and has faced far more exile than Allen or Polanski (ironic since the latter can’t even leave Europe). What Gibson did certainly was terrible, but are his actions comparable to Allen’s, Polanski’s, or Cosby’s? Certainly not and while Gibson’s alienation is not completely undeserved, he does deserve more credibility from the general public.